Traveling oven.



PATENTED' MAR. 22, 1904. T. VIGARS & J. VIOARS, THE YOUNGBR.

TRAVELING OVEN.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.15, 1903.

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No. 755,194; PATENTED MAR. 22, 1904'." T. VIOARS & J. VIOARS, THEYOUNGER.

TRAVELING OVEN. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 15. 1903.

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Nb. 755,194. I I PATENTED MAR. 22,1904. T. VIGARS & J. VIGARS, THEYOUNGER. TRAVELING OVEN.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 15, 1903.

' I0 IODEL. 5 SHEEIBBHEET 3.

No. 755,194. PATENTED MAR. 22,1904. T. VIGARS & J. 'VIGAR$, THE YOUNGER.

TRAVELING OVEN.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 15, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

5 SHEETSSHEET 4. v

"No. 755,194. PATENTED MAR. 22,-1904. T. VICARS & J. VIGARS, THEYOUNGER. TRAVELING OVEN.

' APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 15, 1903; N0 MODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

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UNITED STATES Patented. March '22, 1904.

PATENT- OFFICE.

THOMAS VICARS AND JOHN VICARS, THE YOUNGER, OF FARLESTOWN, ENGLAND.

TRAVELING OVEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 755,194, dated March22, 1904.

Application filed September 15, 1903. Serial No. 173,338. (No model.)

To all whom it mayconcern:

, Be it known that we, THoMAs VIGARS and JOHN VICARS, the younger,subjects of the King of Great Britain, residing at Earlestown, in thecounty of Lancaster, England, have invented new and useful Improvementsin or Connected with Traveling Ovens, of which the following is aspecification.

The invention relates to ovens which have endless traveling chains forcarrying the pans; and the object is to provide appliances whereby thetension on each of the chains carrying a pan or seriesof pans may beregulated or balanced, so that one chain is not under greater strain ortension than another, and so as to prevent undue strain being put uponany chain, and whereby the expansion or contraction of the chains byvariation of temperature shall be automatically compensated. We attainthese objects by appliances such as are illustrated on the accompanyingdrawings, on which Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section, and Fig.2 a plan, of one form of appliances for balancing and compensatingexpansion of two oven-chains. Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal section,and Fig. 4 a plan, of an arrangement for compensating expansion of onechain. Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 1, but with weightedlevers instead of springs. Fig. 6 is a plan of an arrangement forbalancing and compensating expansion of three chains by oneexpansion-bar and, connections. Fig. 7 is a plan of an arrangementsimilar to Fig. 3, but applied to four, chains. Figs. 8 and 9 are acentral longitudinal sectionand a plan, respectively, similar to Figs 1and 2, but with the expansion-bar as a rigid girder.

Like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in all the views.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, 1 represents the usual chain-pulleys, aroundwhich the ovenchains pass. 2 represents the usual sliding supports forthe pulleys 1, free to slide on bars or brackets 3 3, connected to theframework of the oven. The supports 2 are connected by pins or pivots 1to the ends of a balance lever or arm 5, the center of which isconnected by a pin 6 to a rod 7, the outer end 8 of which is screwed andprovided with an adjustable nut 9, bearing against a spring 10, theother end of which bears against a collar or projection 11 on a sleeveor bar 12, so that the balance-lever is pulled toward the outer end ofthesleeve, thus maintaining the tension of the oven-chains with regardto the sleeve 12. The sleeve 12 isfree to slide on the bar 3 and in asupport 13, attached to the oven or to the ground, as desired. 11 is aspring bearing at one end against the support 13 and at the otheragainst anut or collar 15, adjustable by a screw or otherwise upon thesleeve 12, so that the sleeve tends to be moved outwardly in thedirection of the arrow 16. Such outward motion is, however, limited by arod or bar 17, made, preferably, of similar material to the chains, soas to expand equally with the chains by variation of temperature. Therod 17 is attached at one end, 18, to the sleeve 12 and extends throughthe oven in about the same positionas the chains, so that it is exposedto the same temperatures. The rod 17 is also of about the same length asthe chains and is secured at its other end, 19, to a bar 20, attached tothe oven or framework 20.

21 represents nutsfor adjusting the rod 17 lon- Referring to Figs. 3 and4, in this case to the yoke. 23, and the rod 7 is connected direct tothe sliding chain-wheel support 2.

Referring to Fig. 5, instead of using springs for maintaining thetension on the chains weights or weighted levers may be used, and herethe sleeve 12 is shown connected by a link 12 to one arm of a bell-cranklever 14, pivoted to the sleeve-support 13, the other arm of the leverhaving a weight 14 which tends to move the sleeve outwardly. 10 is abell-crank lever pivoted to the outer end of the sleeve 12 and havingone arm connected to the rod 7 of the chain -pulley support, the otherarm being weighted at 10", so that the chain-pulleys tend to moveoutwardly in relation to the sleeve. In this view the compensatingtension element is shown as a chain 17 instead of a solid rod;

Instead of one tension-rod, sleeve, and spring connection being used foreach ovenchain or pair of chains a larger number of chains or pairs ofchains may be compensated by one tension-rod, &c. and referring to Fig.6, which is a plan for regulating or balancing three chains, the twoouter wheel-supports 2 slide on bars 3 3, as in Figs. 1 and 2, and thecenter support 2" slides on the yoke 23, as in Figs. 3 and 4. The rod 7is connected to a balance-lever 5, as in Figs. 1 and 2, the springconnection being the same. The ends of the lever 5 are connected bylinks 24 to secondary unequal armed balance-levers 25, the ends of theshorter arms of which are connected by pins 26 to the outer chain-pulleysupports, while the longer arms of the levers 25 are connected by a pin27 to the center chain-pulley support. By this arrangement, theproportion of the arms of the levers 25 being two to one uniform tensionis maintained on all the three oven-chains. The compensating arrangementis the same as in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to Fig. 7, this is a plan whereby four chains are regulatedfrom one tensionrod, spring connection, &c. The arrangement is similarto Fig. 6, except that the equal arms of the secondary balance-levers 25are each connected to a separate chain-pulley support 2, all slidingupon bars 3 3. Any desired number of chains may be thus regulated fromone tension-rod by using suitable multiple balance-levers or equivalentdevices'to transmit the tension of the adjustable spring connectionsbetween the chain-pulley supports 2 and the sleeve or bar 12.

Referring to Figs. 8 and 9, instead of using a tension-rod and spring orweight for regulating the movement of the sleeve or bar 12 in all theabove-described arrangements such sleeve might be attached to or formedas part of a bar, girder, or tube of such dimensions as not to bedeflected laterally by the tension on the oven-chains. The bar, girder,or tube will thus be in compression instead of in tension, as beforedescribed for the rod 17. The arrangement in these views is for a pairof chains, and the construction and operation of the parts are similarto Figs. 1 and 2, except that the tensionrod 17 in Figs. 1 and 2 isreplaced by a bar 17 one end, 18, of which is secured to the sleeve 12,while the other end, 19, is secured to the bar 20 near the other end ofthe oven, the bar 17 b extending through the oven, as described for therod 17 above, so that as the chains expand bylieat the bar 17 beingpreferably of similar material, likewise expands to about the sameextent, thus forcing the sleeve 12 outwardly through the support 13. Thespring 14, described under Figs. 1 and 2, therefore not being necessaryis dispensed with. The arrangement of balance-lever 5, rod 7, andadjustable spring connection 10 is the same as under Figs. 1 and 2, orthe weighted lever 10, as under Fig. 5, might be used instead of thespring 10.

It is to be observed that when the beforementioned rod 17 or othertensile element or the bar, girder, tube, or other element incompression are made of material of greater expansibility by heat thanthe oven-chains such rod, bar, 620., need not extend the whole length ofthe oven, but only so far as that the expansion will be about equal tothat of the oven-chains.

Set-screws, nuts, catches, or other motionlimiting devices may be usedwhere necessary to limit the motion of the chainpulleys, springadjustments, or other parts to prevent undue strain being accidentallyput on the chains. For instance, the outer ends of the sleeve 12 and rod7 are only screwed acertain length, so that the nuts 15 and 9 cannot bescrewed in so far as to cause excessive compression of the springs 14:and 10.

We do not-confine ourselves to the precise details of constructions orarrangements of parts above described, as it will be obvious manymodifications may be made without departing from the nature of theinvention so long as a rod, chain, bar, or the like having an expansionapproximately uniform with that of the oven-chains is used, such bar orrod being attached to or formed with asleeve or bar which is attachedthrough a spring or yielding connection to the chain-pulley supports.

We claim 1. In combination with a traveling oven an expansible deviceextending into the oven and fixed at one end therein and at the otherend connected to the movable chain-pulley slides, substantially asdescribed.

2. In combination with a traveling oven an expansible device extendinginto the oven and fixed at one end therein and at the other endconnected by a balance-lever to the movable chain-pulley slidessubstantially as described.

8. In combination with a traveling even an exnansible deviceextendinginto the oven and pansible device outwardly substantially as fixed atone end therein a balance-lever condescribed.

nected to the movable chain-pulley slides, and In testimony whereof wehave signed 0111 a tension device connecting the balance-lever names tothis specification in the presence of I 5 to tlgedexpansible devicesubstantially as detwo subscribing witnesses. scr1 e 4. In combinationwith a traveling oven an expansible device extending into the oven and Vfixed at one end therein and at the other end Witnesses:

connected to the movable chain-pulley slides, W. B. JOHNSON, and atension device adapted to draw the eX- F. BENNETT.

THOMAS VIOARS. JOHN VICARS, THE YOUNGER

